Is this new tube map really better than TfL’s one?

A university lecturer has created a viral new tube map, after calling TfL’s original map ‘garbage’. Bit harsh. But is the new work of art really that much better?

Dr Maxwell Roberts, a professor in psychology at the University of Essex, has decided to radically redesign the original TfL map, which was drawn by Harry Beck more than 90 years ago, in 1933.

Dr Roberts called the OG map ‘lamentable’ and ‘in a neglected state of decline’, so he decided to draw a circular one. 

In the alternative design, Oxford Circus sits at the centre of the map, with tube lines spreading out around it in concentric circles and spokes. Dr Roberts claims his map has improved topographical accuracy, and is easier to understand than TfL’s version.

He posted the new map on X, where it gained more than 1.3 million views and was met with positive reviews.  

The professor also shared it on LinkedIn, where he wrote: ‘The current state of the official London Underground map is lamentable for all sorts of reasons. It has poor balance, simplicity, coherence and topographical accuracy.

‘It fails by any criterion of effectiveness you can imagine and has been in a neglected state of decline for years. I caused a stir a few years ago calling it a “garbage piece of lazy design” and nothing has happened since to change my mind.’

But despite the interest in Dr Roberts’ design, TfL doesn’t plan on changing theirs anytime soon.